The present invention relates to a device for vehicles provided with safety belts. The safety belt has a buckle arrangement comprising a female portion attached to an unstable belt connected to the vehicle. The female portion can lie on a seat. The invention further relates to a method for stabilizing and positioning of a buckle arrangement.
Vehicles normally have relatively rigid buckle arrangements at the front seat, which facilitate latching or coupling. Many vehicles have safety belts, which at the rear seat consist of a buckle attached to an unstable belt connected to the vehicle. To be able to use these safety belts two hands are necessary and some skill to latch the male part to the buckle. For elderly or handicapped people and smaller children this can be difficult. Furthermore the unstable buckle arrangements may disappear down between the seat cushion and the back rest. This can lead to the safety belts not being used.
Through a number of patent documents such as JP-A-63-20249, U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,320, U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,556 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,992 different devices for stabilizing belt buckles are previously known. A common feature of the known devices is that these have been developed for assemblying during production of new cars and that they therefore cannot be used for cars that are already manufactured. The known stationary solutions are not practical for those who have problems with unstable and awkward belts in their actual car. This is even more unpractical as these require incisions such as slots in the seat cushions.
With known technique it has thus hitherto been impossible to stiffen the safety belt after the car has been manufactured. With the present invention it is possible to stabilize and position unstable belts by hand in both new and used vehicles having unstable belts.
One object of the present invention is to provide a device such that belt buckles can be stabilized by hand in an easy manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device such that the safety belt can be latched with one hand in vehicles having unstable belts.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device such that belt buckles in vehicles with unstable belts maintain their positions even when they are not in use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device such that all types of belt buckles in vehicles with unstable belts can be stabilized by hand in an easy manner.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device such that the seat cushion can be used as a counter support during latching and such that only the hand which is closest to the the buckle needs to be used.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device which is mountable and dismountable by hand when applicable into or out of a vehicles with unstable belts.